If you've been there, you know that it is the answer to a fisherman's prayer. If you haven't had the chance, then keep on praying. Here's the place where you rarely have to fish the water. You fish to the fish. I had a fellow I was guiding on the Lamar River say to me, " I just realized we aren't casting to the water, we're actually watching to see where the fish are and how they're feeding." That's how it is, at least in much of Yellowstone Park.

If you've never been fishing in Yellowstone, the most important difference between eastern and high mountain western fishing are the hours. No rising at dawn or fishing at dark. It's banker's hours most of the time.

Hatches usually begin after 10 AM and if the wind doesn't blow you off the stream, you may have hatches until 3 or 4 o'clock. Spinner falls may be earlier or later and evening caddis hatches are not uncommon, Come to think of it, the only thing that is certain about western hatches is that there is no certainty. In early July many hatches don't start until 1 o'clock, so have an early stream side lunch or you may just not get one.

Don't be mislead by this, to think that everyday there are hatches, but most days would not be an exaggeration. The days that do not have hatches often have sporadic emergences that are just enough to keep the fish looking up. The hatches, themselves, are not a great deal different than eastern hatches. Have plenty of Adams in all sizes. The Parachute Adams works well most of the time, but on flat water that has been heavily fished, you may need to have a quill body that REALLY looks like a natural.

Are these fish easier to catch? Often Cutthroat Trout are considered to be very easy fish. Some are and some aren't. Consider that these fish are not hooked or bothered from October until June or July. First person to fish over them after run-off is going to find them very easy to catch.

Cutthroats are intense feeders. They will not back off like a Brown Trout. They stay right up feeding and dare you to fool them. It makes an interesting game. It only takes a few weeks for them to wise up and get leader shy, hook shy, etc. I have often seen them come up and bump the fly with their nose to see if there is a hook.So by late summer you can have some pretty tough fishing, but they are hungry, and they don't like to go and hide. Even if you stick them, they are usually back up feeding in a few minutes. If I miss a fish, I usually let it rest for a few minutes, change flies to show them something different, and then try again. It works!

A case in point: I remember fishing for a 17" Cutthroat on Slough Creek that I couldn't catch and I had tried on several occasions. One day as we passed by I said to my husband, Hank, "See that fish. He can't be caught!"

With that Hank dropped off from our group and 3 hours and 10 minutes later, he caught that fish. After much trial and error he told us he had finally used a Waterwhisp fly, (the hook is turned up) that could not be noticed or felt when the fish bumped it, and he had taken some "Mud" and put just a bit on his 6x tippet to sink it a few inches from the fly. The fish took that combination on the first cast. So don't let anyone tell you that Cutthroats are easy.

Perhaps the most amazing part of western fishing is the size of the fish. These Yellowstone Cutthroats are wild, native fish. There are some wild Rainbows, Browns and Brookies also. When you see these fish you think the stocking truck must have just pulled away. On an average day of fishing you will catch several 15 to 18 inch fish and nearly everything else is 12 to 14 inches. They are heavy, fat, healthy, fish, and it makes you wonder how it must have been before the white man came.

So keep on praying for a chance to come to Yellowstone or any of many western fishing destinations. It is the answer to a fisherman's prayer!